Why Gap Is Cool Again

I was 15 when Gap hired me as a sales associate. That was a mistake. The legal hiring age was 16, but I suppose that my rehearsed performance during the interview and genuine excitement for all things Gap convinced the hiring manager that I was worth waiting for. That was not a mistake.

I spent three years (not a bad ROI for them) greeting customers, asking “what size are you looking for?” (open-ended questions, as I was trained) and molding myself into the perfect customer-centric employee — today’s retail urban legend. And I loved every second of it. This was, after all, post late-’90s, when Gap made every student choose advertising as their major, when everybody was in cords and being mad about Saffron was cool. Gap was relevant.

Gap: Letting Go Of The Past

Remember the last time you walked into Gap and felt that same excitement about the brand? The resounding answer: sort of. The hits and misses over the years beg the question of whether Gap is aware of all this. “Very much so,” confirms Jason Ferro, head designer for Gap 1969 men’s denim. “I think that’s why they started to work with Ogilvy [Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide]… and hired Seth [Farbman] as the new marketing president, just because they knew they needed to start being relevant again and… start getting that new generation.” “Keeping the old generation too,” he adds.

Blast from the past: Gap's famous "Khaki Soul" commercial from the '90s.

“It’s such a big ship, so it takes baby steps. That’s the biggest challenge. Big companies seem to get stuck and be safe. They’re like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this because I’ve had that thing for seven years and it sells.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s seven years old and it’s time to move on.’ So, it’s really letting go of the past and moving forward, which is the biggest challenge.”

In 2011, this big ship threw a few men overboard, including fashion-industry favorite Patrick Robinson, whose same-store sales in North America reportedly declined for 14 of the 16 quarters during his stay. Glenn Murphy, CEO, made the announcement that Gap will be closing 200 of its 900 stores (worldwide) by 2013; he added that the brand’s efforts to attract ethnic minority customers stateside were inadequate. Blurgh.